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On January 4, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iranian-backed armed factions, attacked two bases of the United States military in Syria with suicide drones.
The first attack targeted a military training camp in the area of al-Rukban near the U.S. al-Tanf garrison in the southeastern region, while the second attack hit the Green Village base which is located in al-Omar oil fields in the eastern governorate of Deir Ezzor.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based pro-opposition monitoring group, confirmed that both bases were hit by suicide drones and reported casualties in the Green Village. The U.S. Central Command is yet to provide any details.
The IRI said in two separate statements that the attacks were an act of “resistance” against U.S. occupation and a response to Israeli “massacres” against Palestinains in the Gaza Strip.
The two attacks came just a few hours after Mushtaq Talib “Abu Taqwa” al-Saidi, a senior commander of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, was killed in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in a U.S. drone strike. Another member of the faction was also killed and at least six others were wounded.
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, which is backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is a part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, which is officially recognized by the Iraqi government, and thought to be one of the main factions of the shadowy IRI.
An unnamed U.S. defense official told Al-Monitor that Abu Taqwa was assassinated because he was “actively involved” in planning, executing attacks on U.S. forces.
More than 100 attacks with rockets, ballistic missiles and suicide drones have targeted U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17, ten days after the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The IRI claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
The Iraqi government held the U.S.-led coalition responsible for the assassination, calling it a “dangerous escalation” and “an aggression against Iraq.” Meanwhile, many political parties and leaders called for expelling U.S. forces from the country and vowed to take revenge.
The IRI will likely intensify attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria in the coming days in response to the assassination of Abu Taqwa.
